DON'T BUY

An ETF for utilities. A great defensive sector with amazing performance lately. XUT-T is good, but 60% is in the top 4 holdings (inculding Fortis and Algonquin); 4% yield and 55 basis point cost. ZUT-T is more diversified and equal-weight. ZWU is also equal weight but does covered calls to create extra income, which sells future income for gains today; yields 6%. Given the strong performance of utilities in the past year, covered calls have lagged.

BUY

A good Vanguard ETF for bonds and stocks? VBAL and VGRO. VBAL is more balacned, and VGRO. Now, be more conservative so choose VBAL, but VGRO is better for growth. They both track North American stocks

BUY
Now is the time to start edging into this sector. Expect volatility though. To reduce that and add income, then look at BASE, a new ETF from Evolve. Nobody knows the bottom in mining.
TOP PICK
It duplicates the Morningstar broad hedge fund index, hedged to the CAD. If you add this to a 60/40 North American portfolio, the stock ratio will go up.
TOP PICK
Not hedged (though there is a hedged version, a 50/50 split is fine). This gains exposure to gold, which you must own now.
TOP PICK
Collects Warren Buffet-esque stocks. 80% of the ETF is invested. They use sell calls and buys puts to hedge the downside. They squeeze the volatility to ensure a portfolio doesn't suffer catastrophic losses.